The Mistletoe
by Amaryne
Summary: Heaps of fluffy moments, all under the mistletoe. Het pairings. UPDATE! Matt/Linda. Linda's giving out free massages. Matt's enjoying his massage a lot more than he should.
1. Curse the equations

A/N: I know. Mistletoe is _so _cliché. But heck, there isn't enough het out there in the Death Note fandom! I don't think this turned out the way I wanted it to, but I tried.

Warning: forgive me if I include OOCness. It's not intentional. And there's probably some slight AU there as well. Sorry!

Pairings: Near/Linda, Mello/Halle, Matsuda/Sayu, L/Misa. May be changed later depending on response.

* * *

**30 kisses under the mistletoe.**

**kiss one: awkwardness**

Linda frowned as she looked down at her test paper. "I don't get it...x is...but wait, that doesn't..." she frowned harder. Maths wasn't her forte, but she had vowed to get good marks in the subject by Christmas, and she _needed _to be able to understand this question. And they were already hanging the mistletoe! She had asked around for two hours, but apparently no one had gotten the question right. The only two people who had gotten it right was Mello and Near. And she had _tried _Mello. He just snarled and called her stupid.

So that just left one person.

Conveniently enough, he was just a few metres away from her, in a doorway. Staring at something. She ignored it.

"Hey, Near!"

The albino tilted his head curiously to acknowledge her. She smiled her biggest smile as she ran over to him.

"Listen, could you explain this to me? Seriously, _no one _knows! And Mello won't tell me. But you got 100%, right? So you probably -"

She was cut off as she realised what Near was staring at before.

Ah.

Mistletoe.

...

Well, this was awkward.

"O-oh. So...that was what you were staring at..." she blushed. Linda bit her lip, before smiling again, an idea popping into her head. "Ah...mistletoe."

He didn't respond.

Linda inhaled deeply and leaned forward, eyes fluttered shut. Near blinked several times until her lips pressed against his, where his eyes stayed wide open. It was a few seconds before she pulled away, with her blushing furiously.

_Can I have some more?_, a ridiculous voice in his head giggled. He fought the urge to shake his head away of it, and merely stared at Linda, eyes slightly wider than usual.

"I -"

"Sorry," she mumbled, looking down at the floor. "I overstepped myself."

Silence.

"I will explain."

Linda's head snapped up. "What?"

"I will explain the equation."

She half-smiled at him, and he felt something unfamiliar; almost dizzying. "Okay."

* * *

Hope it wasn't too fluffy for you. R&R.


	2. Extremely unprofessional

A/N: THANKS FOR THE RESPONSE GUYS! ilu all. srsly.

Anyway, as requested, I'll include a Mello/Sayu and an L/Wedy. Because you know what? All pairings are welcome here. No exclusives. SO YAY FOR CRACK HET PAIRINGS -celebrates-

Again with the fluff. I think this was more IC than the last one, because, believe it or not, it's so much easier portraying a guy who goes GU#$)(*%&#)% than a guy who just goes "..."

* * *

**kiss two: unprofessional**

" - goddamnit, Halle," Mello spat as he sat impatiently on the couch. The elder women rolled her eyes as she set up the Christmas decorations.

As she went over to the doorway to hang up the mistletoe, Mello spoke again. "What the hell? Mistletoe? Is this your lame way of hitting on me, or something?"

"Hitting on you," Halle said calmly as she stood on her toes to hang the kiss-provoker. "would be unprofessional."

Mello then proceeded to mutter something like '_unprofessional my ass_'.

The mistletoe fell down when she tried to tie it; she sighed and picked it up to try again, only to fail. It was hard; especially with Mello's eyes on her the whole time.

When the mistletoe fell out of her hands for about the fourty-sixth time, Mello growled, stomped over and grabbed the mistletoe out of her hands.

"You're such an idiot, Lidner," he snapped, about to hang it up himself, until he realised...well...

He was holding the mistletoe right above them.

"Ah, shit," he muttered under his breath as Halle cocked an eyebrow at him coyly.

"We don't have to, you know," Halle said, glancing up at the mistletoe in his hands. "Just put it away. It's just some silly tradi -"

He crushed his lips against hers, rendering her speechless. It was pretty sloppy, and rough, but what else would you expect from a brash, inexperienced and hotheaded kid?

When he stepped back, he had a _very _smug smile on his face. On her face, however, was a rather deep blush. Halle cleared her throat.

"That," she said, trying to maintain her composure. "was _very _unprofessional."

"Since when did I give a damn about professionalism anyway?"

Halle paused to think, decided that she agreed, and leaned in.


	3. Every kiss means something!

A/N: I didn't know there were more MelloSayu fans out there! I love MelloSayu! But I've never touched it, because...I'm not sure what could occur in two days between a...hostage and her...kidnapper. Then again, there's always stockholm syndrome, right? But this one isn't about MelloSayu, so I don't know what I'm yapping about.

Requested Aiber/Wedy and Light/Misa (I'm looking forward to see how _that _one goes) will be coming up.

Enjoy moar fluff. (Plus, this is longer - a newfound penchant for writing LMisa maybe?)

* * *

"_Ryuuzaki!_"

L and Light turned around at a furious Misa, storming their way towards them. Light sighed. It was probably another rant about how she wanted a date with Light...

...only to find that it was something _completely _different when she held up the mistletoe with her dainty fingers.

"You pervert, Ryuuzaki! Look at it! _Look at it_!" She shoved the mistletoe in L's face, who merely blinked at it. "Do you know what this is?"

"It is mistletoe, Misa-san. Or more specifically, _Phoradendron flavescens, _usually only found in the United States." He blinked again. "Did you recently return from that location, Misa-san?"

Misa fumed, her face flushing red and her other fingers gripping the mistletoe tightly. "You pervert! Ryuuzaki should know that Misa never went to the United States, she was just here yesterday!"

"Misa..." Light held the bridge of his nose. "What are you talking about?"

She inhaled, exhaled, and then screeched, "Ryuuzaki has taken away all of Misa's make up, _and_ -" she lifted her fingers so that Light could see it clearly. "- he put this stupid plant herb shrub thing in its place! It's unfair! Ryuuzaki wanted to take all of Misa's make up because he wanted to have weird stalker thoughts about Misa using them!" Misa finished her rant, arms crossed over her chest indignantly.

Light sighed.

"Misa-san," L said, biting his thumb. "I was not the one who has replaced your make-up with mistletoe."

"Yes you were! When Misa knows, Misa knows! Who else would?"

"A deranged fan, perhaps?"

"Deranged fans wouldn't be able to breach Misa's security! She has bodyguards at her apartment! Someone like Ryuuzaki must have lied to them about doing business work and stole it all!"

The mistletoe was crushed in her hands.

"Misa thinks," she began wildly. "that Ryuuzaki knew that Misa would get angry and push the mistletoe in his face! So now Misa has to kiss Ryuuzaki, because the mistletoe was over our heads!"

Light blinked. Even for Misa, that was a little illogical. If she knew -

"If you reached to that conclusion beforehand, Misa-san, why would you fall into my hypothetical plan of making you kiss me?"

Misa answered straight away. "Because Misa-Misa believes that every kiss is worth something. And if Ryuuzaki were to kiss Misa, maybe he'd be so blown away that he'd release Light from boring boring work and Misa can go on a date with Light again!" Her disposition went from passionate to cheery as she spoke to L. "So Misa will give Ryuuzaki what he wants. But he has to give Misa what she wants."

"So you see this as a bargaining tool?"

"Of course I do, Ryuuzaki!"

Light groaned. "I'm tired of this...I'm going to bed."

Misa grinned and walked over to him, kissing him on the cheek. "Sweet dreams, Light!"

As Light walked away, Misa beamed at L. He frowned a little at her sudden mood change.

"Every kiss means something," L found himself mumbling under his breath, despite himself. It only made her face glow even more.

Misa lifted the – damaged – mistletoe over their heads. "You're such a pervert, Ryuuzaki." She giggled at his curious expression.

So she kissed it away.

* * *

Hope it wasn't too...yeah.

Any more requests? :D


	4. And mistletoe counts, even on paper

A/N: MelloSayu, because it is so loved. Sorry InnocentMuffin – I know you don't like MelloSayu (WHY?! WHYYYYYY?!) but eh ;D

AND SAYUNEAR. I love that one. I'm so happy it's been requested because I lovelovelove it. But I forgot about it. Which was stupid.

I remember there being a really nice SayuNear fanfiction out there...but I forgot what it was called. Damn. Anyway, on to MelloSayu. I tried to keep it light at first, but when I got to the unbinding part (you'll see) I sorta went...well, _some_ disturbing stuff can be excused, right?

Right?

* * *

Mello decided that giving Kira's sister something to do wasn't the worst idea. In fact, it would be good, because then he didn't have watch her staring at the ground dejectedly.

He would have the other mafia thugs watch her through the monitors, but the way they _leered _at her was disgusting. Not that he cared. He doesn't.

So, after asking around (in a manly, strong voice of course) he managed to get out some scrap paper and crayons. He had no idea where the crayons came from, but Mello didn't think he wanted to know.

He tossed them on the floor next to her. The poor girl simply faced up at him sadly. Like some little lost puppy dog.

Grumbling, he harshly ripped apart the bonds so that they rubbed roughly against her wrists. Her hiss was muffled by the gag, but her hands were free.

Before she could even mumble a 'thank you' (although, she wondered if she really had to) the blond boy had already stomped his way out of the room.

A few hours later, Mello found that Sayu had become extremely immersed in drawing. She drew random things – a halloween pumpkin, a valentines day card, a birthday present...maybe they weren't so random. But he didn't say anything until she was drawing something that was green, and resembled..

...mistletoe.

"Why are you drawing mistletoe?" he suddenly demanded, another one of his impulsive urges taking over him. A part of him berated himself.

"The first time I kissed my boyfriend was under the mistletoe," she replied calmly, though her voice was cracked.

"Tch. How cliché."

"It was romantic," she found herself muttering.

"And I bet cheesy as hell."

"It was -" she sighed. "I don't need to talk to you."

"You're right. You don't."

His response caused her to look a little disappointed, and she continued drawing.

"You're really bad at drawing."

"Yeah, well, I may be no Linda Portwood -" Mello's eyebrows shot up amusingly at this "- but it's not like I'm drawing them to please others." When she heard herself retort defensively like that, she cowered little, flushing. _Is it really in my best interest to talk like that to my kidnapper? Of course not!_

"You're funny."

Sayu blushed harder. So he found her _funny_.

"Yeah – well – you're mean."

All the response she got was amplified snickering. It was a little eerie.

She sighed. "How I would _dream _for another romantic kiss like that..." Sayu stopped drawing and found herself daydreaming of roses, candles and a beautiful romantic sunset.

And there he was. The perfect guy.

Without a face. Because he didn't exist.

Yet.

Sayu opened her eyes from her dreaming and found _a _guy right in front of her. She almost screamed until she collected herself, reminding her mouth that again, this kind of thing _wasn't in her best interest_.

So she settled with her eyes widened to the size of hockey balls as she tried to deal with the blond boy staring right at her.

_He's not going to rape you, he's not going to rape – my God, he kidnapped me, of _course _he's going to rape me! _She squeaked, and...

It made him grin.

Which was rather disturbing.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

"You said you wanted a romantic kiss." He sounded a little irritated, but then again, so was she.

"Yeah – but not with my kidnapper! And there's no mistletoe." She mumbled the last sentence.

Mello swiftly took the drawing of the mistletoe and lifted it above their heads. Sayu stared up at it before she stared at him. He covered up every inch of her sight, and she found herself paralysed, unable to back away. He leaned closer, saying in a low voice, "There is now."

He kissed her roughly, and Sayu was so startled she couldn't even think. Her hands clenched firmly, when she realised she was _enjoying _it, with her _kidnapper_, which was...

_'Kind of hot.'_

Sayu's mouth parted at that thought and she immediately shoved him away. He landed on his behind, and for a second she thought that he'd stand up, grab a handful of hair and throw her to the wall...

But instead he just started _laughing._

She fingered her lips (which were a little bruised – he was the most possessive kisser she'd ever experienced) before she finally asked, "Wh – why are you laughing?"

Mello only laughed harder, and when he finally stopped he said, almost in an incredulous voice, "I just kissed Kira's _sister." _He wondered if L ever did this before - something completely and utterly..._unexpected._

Sayu frowned. She didn't like it when he called her brother Kira. "I – he's not – what?"

"Kira," he growled, although it was more of a happy growl, if there was such a thing. "is going to be so _pissed_."

When she didn't say anything to him, giving him a look that said _'are-you-sure-you're-right-in-the-head_?' he stood up in a swift movement.

"By the way – your dad's picking you up tomorrow. You might want to try covering that." Mello flashed her a mischevious grin as he tapped twice on his bottom lip (to which Sayu responded by covering her own mouth with her hands) before walking away lazily, as if he were on top of the world.

Sayu pouted as she poked her lower lip in frustration, wondering if all Germans were like this.

* * *

Hehehe.

Long...er. I didn't like this one that much, though. My heart was telling me ANGST but my brain was telling me FLUFF. So it didn't come out that well.

Sorry if Mello was OOC! I really, really tried. I really tried hard. I was a bit worried that Sayu was too casual in her situation, but I decided that nothing would really _work _if she acted like a frightened little thing that gets raped every three hours. Plus, you know, fluff.

Yay.

This kinds of inspires me to do some angsty Mello/Sayu. I mean, why not?

NOTE: I reckon Mello's German (Mihael Keehl is German, I think), which is my interpretation, so I'm sorry if other people reckon he's...Russian, or British or...yeah. Sorry.

ANOTHER NOTE: OMG YOU GUYS LINDA IS IN THE CHARACTER FILTER HVGE$)TY()$#Y%)#%&)#*& SQUEEE -IMPLODE-

I'm so totally doing a Linda/Someone next chapter. Come on guys - bring it on!


	5. Was that planned? Well, obviously

A/N: That's right.

Linda/Matsuda.

-giggles maddeningly-

Thanks to The One Called Demetra for the idea xDD I was first going to do Matt/Linda, since pretty much almost everyone was suggesting it, but I'll either do that next chapter or the one after. No one's ever seen a Matsuda/Linda before, have they?

And another thing – lately, what I've done is change the characters in the category section depending on the chapter (so that if someone goes, 'man, I have a sudden urge to read a oneshot on Matsuda/Linda' and they search up for it, even if they don't like Mello/Sayu or Linda/Near they can still enjoy this little tidbit) but should I just leave it blank with no character categories?

Anyway. That's enough of me now. Huzzah!

* * *

It all started innocently enough.

He had never thought he'd been in this situation. Even Matsuda the Ever-Clueless knew that Linda Portwood was one of the best – or, arguably, _the_ best – artists of their generation; and from the Kira investigation, he knew that she was probably one of the smartest, coming from Wammy's House.

And the prettiest.

But he was going to keep that to himself.

He was in the grocery store, wondering what kind of fabric softener he should buy, while a young woman was staring at him.

The woman approached him, and introduced herself.

As Linda Portwood.

She smiled one of the warmest smiles he had ever seen, asked if she could paint a portrait of him, and gave him her address when he said yes (or more accurately: "O-o-okay!").

"Why?" he had asked, completely befuddled.

"Because you're..." For some reason, she trailed off, flashed another one of those smiles, and walked away.

Which left him nothing short of confused. Girls didn't normally do that, did they?

And he had asked! Maybe it was just one of those things where he didn't get something but other people would! But everyone else didn't know either, and the only person who did seem to have an idea told him "she wants to jump you on her easel".

Matsuda wasn't sure how that could even happen without the easel toppling over, and he berated himself for even thinking about it.

And so here he was.

In her (surprisingly comfortable) art studio, sitting on a stool and twiddling his thumbs.

"Do you want something to eat? You look a little nervous."

"I – uh." He blushed. "N-not if it's imposing, or anything."

"Of course not. I offered, didn't I?" She smiled again. "And I prepared for this. Usually, when I find interesting subjects off the street, they tend to be nervous. I understand, though. Stripping in front of a stranger can be unnerving."

Matsuda nodded, until...

"I'm posing _naked _for you?" he babbled. "B-but I never – I thought -" In the grocery, she _had _said portrait. Which just meant...it couldn't have meant...

She giggled. "You're so funny, Matsuda. Of course you're not posing naked for me – it's just a joke."

"Right! Right!" Matsuda nodded again, feeling rather dumb. He began staring at the floor, face red with embarrassment.

Linda brought her easel in, grinning. "Well – just try and stay still. You can breathe and stuff," she quickly added when a determined look crossed his face, "but just don't go jumping up and down like a monkey, or anything."

"I won't!"

She stared at him, before laughing again. "You're so funny," she repeated, before setting her pencil down to concentrate on Matsuda's facial structure.

After about half an hour, she peered over the easel and said, "Okay, I've got the sketch done, and..."

She paused.

Matsuda frowned. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, no, nothing like that. It's just that, I was going to have you leave, and we'd continue this another time, but..." she bit her lip. "Could you...stay?"

"St-stay?"

Suddenly, the words '_she wants to jump you on her easel' _began popping up in his head again, and he blushed furiously.

"Well...I was going to put up some Christmas decorations. Tomorrow night, I'm having a Christmas party for some..." she frowned. "...old friends."

Suddenly, it dawned on Matsuda; she knew _Mello_. She knew _Near._ She might have even known _L_.

And here he was.

"...so, yeah. Matsuda, are you listening?"

"Huh? What?" Realising that he spaced out, he blushed harder. "I'm sorry! Can you repeat that?"

"I was asking if you could possibly help me with the Christmas decorations? Only if you're not busy, that is!"

"S-sure! As in, sure I'll help you."

Linda sighed in relief. "Thanks so much."

"N-no problem."

Linda opened a closet, tossing Matsuda a (rather heavy) box. "That's the box with the tinsel and the baubles," she said, and suddenly he felt rather embarrassed to think it heavy. "I'm not actually decorating the tree until tomorrow, though, so could you just put it in the living room? It's on the door to your left."

Matsuda nodded, placing it down before hurrying back. She was carrying a much smaller box, and had opened it.

"Ah, the fake mistletoe."

"It looks very nice," Matsuda commented dumbly.

"It's a rather awful couple-maker," Linda said, admiring it with two fingers. _L _sprang to Matsuda's mind but he pushed it down. "Once, in fact, two of our friends were caught under it and they kissed. After dinner, they were romping all over the couch. I had to buy a new one." She looked at it pointedly. "But it was worth it. They're married now."

Matsuda swallowed.

"Well, anyway. I'm just going to put it on the doorway, here – see how there's that little hook? - and hope that my true love is going to come this year. What about you, Matsuda?" she gave him a curious look. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Um, no."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "How weird. You're really sweet. Really, really sweet."

"Oh." He grinned goofily. "Thanks!"

Linda stared down at the mistletoe again, dropping the cardboard box. "Matsuda," she called.

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to do something."

"Oh. Okay."

Linda stepped over to the doorway, and slid the mistletoe onto the hook. She then beckoned for Matsuda to come over, which he did hesitantly, eyeing the mistletoe warily.

"We're under the mistletoe, now."

"Um. Yeah."

"You know what we have to do?"

Matsuda's heart thumped. "Um -"

She grabbed the collar of his shirt and pecked him on the lips.

He blinked. Remembered that she was a genius. Then opened his mouth.

"Did you plan all this?"

She grinned mischievously.

"Maybe."

* * *

A/N: So what did you guys think? Did I do okay?

They're getting longer and longer. Is that a good thing? _Should I have made it shorter_?

Ah well. I hoped you guys enjoyed it~ =)


	6. Because, you know, whatever, right?

A/N: Uhh... hi. UM. Sorry. For the, uh, late (very late) update. I'm really thankful to all of those who reviewed. Seriously. You guys are friggin' awesome.

So, yeah. This is SayuMatt! I actually quite liked writing this - and I hope you like it, too. Although it was kind of angsty. But I couldn't really help it. Angst is like, my favourite thing ever. Except when it's really overdone. I hope this wasn't overdone. I might write a proper SayuMatt. Someday.

What do you guys want to see next? =)

* * *

He didn't know.

He _seriously_ didn't know.

Matt was just going to the convenience store, minding his own business. He wanted to buy smokes. Great. That was it. End of story.

But he got a _little _side-tracked.

A young woman was staring around, looking extremely confused. She was cute. In a different way from Misa Amane. She was prettier in a less obvious way. The type where the more you looked at her, the prettier she seemed to be.

"Need help?"

The young woman blinked, frowning in confusion before nodding and blushing. "Ah... yes. I do... need help." She nodded again.

Matt had already guessed from a distance that she was Japanese, so her less-than-fluent English wasn't really a surprise. He decided to save her the trouble and said, in Japanese, "Where do you want to go?"

The girl paused again, a little surprised, before smiling in relief. "I have to go to a... doctor."

"A doctor? There's a clinic right around -"

"...a special doctor."

Special doctor? He caught on, and went, "I don't think you're mental or anything, don't worry. Do you know where the address is?"

"I lost the piece of paper that told me where it is," she admitted.

"Oh."

Well, that was convenient.

"I don't know the phone number, either, and my mum's phone is off," she grumbled. "All I know that he's some family friend."

"Do you know what his name is?"

"Na... Na..." she frowned (rather cutely).

Matt racked his brains and remembered something. "Nagasaki?" he offered.

Her eyes lit up and she nodded eagerly. "Yes! That's right! How did you know?"

"I think I saw his office around here."

"Oh. Well, where?"

"Um, somewhere over there." He waved vaguely in one direction. She nodded, as if understanding, but she was obviously still very, very confused.

_Matt, seriously, don't. Mello will _slaughter _you. You're supposed to be watching Misa Amane, this was only supposed to be a five minute break. Do _not _help this girl. You are _not _the hero type._

_Do _not -

"I can take you there, if you want."

"R-really? That would be so nice of you."

"No problem."

Except, it was a huge problem.

_You, my friend, are a dead man._

"It was around here, in these block of houses," he said, walking side-by-side with the girl. "I think I saw the sign on one of them. Does he work from home, or something?"

"Yes, he does!" she said, grinning. "Wow. I am so lucky to have found you. Thank you so much. I mean, what are the odds, right?" She laughed. "It's nice that there are people in this world like you. By the way, I'm Sayu. Sayu Yagami."

Matt raised one eyebrow, effectively hiding his shock.

_Shit. Yagami?_

"Thanks," he said, though he didn't really mean it.

"No, really," she went on, and he was starting to feel uncomfortable. "I mean... I don't know, I haven't really talked to anyone since..." Sayu trailed off, biting her lip.

While Sayu tried to think of a substitute, Matt sighed. Because he already knew what the rest of the sentence was. _Since I was kidnapped._

"Well, since... um, an accident." Matt wanted to laugh. Yes, an accident. It was an accident that she happened to be Soichiro Yagami's daughter. "So I didn't really talk to my friends, and things. My mum sent me to a therapist for that, so... okay, is that weird? That _was _weird. I shouldn't have unloaded all that on you. Oh my God, wow, I need to seriously shut up." She laughed, but it was forced.

"No, it's okay. Shit happens, and sometimes you need to let it out." He shrugged.

Sayu blinked, then beamed. Matt was a little startled – people didn't normally light up that much at a comment made by _him_. Most of the comments he made were sarcastic and met with scowls – especially from Mello. He buried his hands into his pockets, about to pull out a cigarrette, but suddenly it just seemed... bad. Especially to do it in front of her, who's suffered so much. So he just left his hands in his pockets.

"I like your goggles," she remarked, after a small silence. "Not many people can pull goggles off. Are you American? You look American."

"Uh, yeah. Think so."

"Huh? You think so?"

"I'm an orphan. Don't know much about my parents."

"Oh." She lowered her eyes. "I see. I know what it's like to not have a parent. My dad died a while ago, and my mum hasn't really been the same since."

"Ah." What was there to say to that? Sorry? But he hadn't even done anything.

Though Mello had.

"Oh, is that it?" Sayu pointed to a plain sign that simply said "Therapist Nagasaki". "It is. Thank so much again. I seriously don't know how I'd get here without you. And it was nice to talk to someone sane who doesn't consider me _in_sane." She smiled shyly at him, and he found himself smiling back.

They stood there in silence, right in front of her therapists' house.

"Can you walk me to the door?" she asked suddenly. His eyebrows shot up. "Okay, that's weird. I know. But... I have a sort of... phobia. Of therapists."

"You have a phobia," he repeated flatly. "of therapists."

"Yeah," she mumbled. "I've been to a bunch, and they're all so... _nosy_."

He couldn't help but crack another grin. "Isn't that their job?"

"Yeah, but..." she shrugged. "Still. I just need a friend to talk to, I don't need... professional help. Not now, anyway. I mean, before, but – okay, shutting up now. Can you walk me up to the door? I... I feel a little more comfortable with you. Which is strange, because I've only just met you, but I feel like -"

"There's mistletoe in the doorway."

"- you're a good friend already – wait, what?" She peered over at the doorway, and giggled. "There is. We would have to kiss under it, right?"

"So that's the real reason? You just wanted a kiss from me all along?" he said teasingly. Suddenly, he felt normal, although this was a far-from-normal situation. Here, he was just a guy flirting with a girl. A girl who was kidnapped by his best friend.

Yeah. Totally normal.

Sayu blushed. "N-no! Of course – no, I mean, not that it would be bad, but – oh God." Her cheeks reddened again. "This is embarrassing."

"I walk you to the door. If it's what you really want. And whatever happens between this sidewalk and the door, well, it's necessary, in order to reach the door."

She opened her mouth and shut it a few times, then stuttered, "Y-yeah, I guess so, I mean, you can't really defy the mistletoe."

"Right. Defying the mistletoe is a very big no-no."

Sayu gave him a great big smile and the smile stayed plastered on until they finally reached the doorway (with the mistletoe) and they both stopped.

Sayu fidgeted with her hands, not really sure what to do, but the timidness left as he pressed his lips against hers. She responded enthusiastically, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer.

_Tsk, tsk, tsk. This is wrong_. _Mello will seriously -_

"Sayu?"

They broke apart. A middle-aged man was staring at both of them, one eyebrow arched questioningly. Sayu flushed a deep shade of red and mumbled, "Hello, Mr. Nagasaki."

"Hello, Sayu." He turned his gaze to Matt, who shifted uncomfortably.

"Right. Well. Bye, Sayu."

Sayu's face fell at the simple goodbye, and said, "Oh. Bye... um..."

"Matt," he offered.

Her blush went ten times redder as she realised that she had just kissed a guy that she hadn't even named yet. "Um. Right. Matt. Bye."

Matt walked down the sidewalk, glancing over his shoulder just once – though Sayu was already in the house. Despite himself, he grinned like an idiot, not even caring that Mello would probably forcibly remove his brain through his ears once he got back to the safe house.

Because, you know, whatever, right?


	7. Free massages are tricky, tricky things

A/N: _so _sorry for not updating for so long. Kinda lost interest in the Death Note fandom... but hopefully I'll trudge my way to 30.

I had like, _three _ideas for MattLinda. One included him crushing on her first, another was just some random one I pulled out of my ass, and this was the only one I really liked. So I hope you enjoy :)

–

"Attention, everyone!" Not everyone looks at Linda, but she continues on nonetheless. "For Christmas this year, I will be giving out free massages. Fifteen minutes _max_, and twenty if I like you. If you want one, you know where to find me. Now continue on."

Mello snickers. "Free _massages_."

"Hey, don't mock the massages," a blonde girl interrupts. One of Linda's friends. "They are _seriously _good. Trust me, I've had two. She's a pro."

"Really."

"Really."

Mello shoots an amused look at Matt, and Matt returns it.

"Well alright then. I suppose it wouldn't kill to get one." Mello leans back lazily, smirking.

The blonde girl smirks back. "You won't regret it, I promise."

–

That evening, a flyer is pinned on their dormitory door.

_Free massages for all! Find Linda in room D4 for the awesomest massage _ever.

Mello laughs and scrunches it up. "Like I'm going to get a massage from _her_."

"Well, she's an artist. She knows how to use her hands."

That earns a suspicious look from Mello. "_'Knows how to use her hands_?' Is that a double entendre I hear, Matt? Some personal experience you haven't informed me of yet?"

Matt snorts. "Hey, _you're _the one who wants the massage."

"Who said _I _was getting it? You are."

Matt stares at his best friend incredulously, pushing off his goggles. "What? I don't want the massage."

"Too bad, you're getting it."

"You can't force me."

Mello grins slyly. Matt narrows his eyes. He _knows _that look. Slowly, dramatically, Mello slides out a red, rectangular item.

Matt's eyes widen and he quickly darts for his GameBoy, scowling as he spots the empty slot where his Mario game _should _be.

"You did _not_."

"Get the massage, get the game."

"You are a freaking psychopath."

Mello shrugs. "Whatever. Do what you want." He encloses the game in his hand and leaves the room, smirking.

Matt sighs and unscrunches the flyer.

_I guess I have no choice. Mello can be a downright bastard, even if he doesn't have a reason to be._

Popping his goggles back on, Matt walks down the hallway... to his ultimate doom.

(Or, you know, just a nice massage. Because that works too. Not as dramatic, though.)

–

Surprisingly, there are a bunch of Wammy kids lined up at Linda's dorm. Most of them guys. Maybe not so surprising, after all. Matt turns on his GameBoy, lining up behind them all. A few girls giggle and point at Matt.

Okay, _now _he gets why Mello wants him to get a massage so badly. Humiliation. Matt grumbles under his breath and plays some interactive detective game Roger bought for him ages ago.

When it's finally his turn, Linda smiles at him brightly.

And so flutters the butterflies.

Well, this is unexpected.

"So – open door or do you want it closed?" Linda asks, gesturing to the door.

A few boys behind him laugh. Matt knows it's at him.

"Closed," Matt says, and they laugh harder. It doesn't usually annoy him that much, but for some reason it does today.

Linda rubs her hands together as she closes the room, and it's very warm. Comfortably warm. He looks around; books, an easel, paints, comics and on her desk there's about a hundred types of brushes, pencils and other arty stuff. It's pretty clean, _nothing _like his dorm.

"So," she says, breaking the silence. His gaze flickers back to her. "Shirt off or shirt on?"

He stares at her.

"Right. I guess that's a shirt _on_." Her face flushes but her voice remains cool and professional. Honestly, she's far too serious for something she's doing for _free_.

"What, the others wanted their shirt off?"

"Um. Yes? I cleaned my hands thoroughly, though, so... no worries about germs. And stuff."

"...okay then."

Linda nods. "Do you want to lie down, or do you prefer sitting up?"

He glances at the bed. It looks very comfy and inviting, but if Mello came in here with Linda straddling him from behind he'd never hear the end of it. "Sitting up."

She shrugs. "Fine with me. How long do you want?"

"Dunno. Ten minutes?"

"Oh, okay. That's fine. Well. Um. Sit, then. On my bed."

Matt follows her instructions, and goes back to his GameBoy, tensing up _just a little _as she rests her hands delicately on his shoulders. She leans in a little, and he tenses up even more. _No one _touches him often. Especially not girls. Especially not pretty ones like Linda. "If you're playing with your GameBoy, I won't be able to get the tension out of your shoulders."

He gives out a small grunt of annoyance and puts down next to him.

Great. Absolutely fantastic.

"And uh. You need to _relax_. That's the whole point of the massage, no?"

He grunts again and tries to relax, and he feels her hands begin to dig into his shoulders.It's a little strange, having someone _do _this, especially _Linda _of all people (who he's barely even spoken to) but it's... nice.

In fact, it's very, very nice.

Maybe even too nice.

She gets out knots in his shoulder he's never realised were there before, and she even _hums _in a comforting way. Suddenly Matt wishes he chose to lie down, not sit up.

And that he'd chosen fifteen minutes, not ten.

He stiffens again at the thought, and she laughs. "_Relax_, you idiot. Mello's paranoia must be rubbing off on you."

_I don't mind so much if it lets _you _rub _me.

"Hey. Uh."

"Mm?" she hums.

"Can you do that... pushing and rubbing thing?"

"What, kneading?"

"Yeah. That."

"Okay!" she sounds _far _too happy and oblivious about it, and it's beginning to unnerve him. What is he _doing_, anyway, getting a massage from some random girl he barely knows?

But what she's doing feels very, very good and he even closes his eyes, letting out a small, contented sigh without even consciously thinking about it.

Then the worst happens.

Her fingers knead a sensitive spot at the base of his neck, sending pleasurable shivers down his spine. She does it again, slower and more gentle, and he moans softly. His eyes flash right open.

_Shit_.

But she happily continues, and he forces himself to not fall into the trap of her stupid massage again. This is too close. Too comforting.

Although his body is begging him to simply _enjoy_, he forces himself to look around the room for some distraction.

"You drew mistletoe," he says, and it comes out a little huskily. He clears his throat.

"I did," she replies cheerfully. "I find it really sweet how they hang it around here, so I decided to paint it."

"Well… it looks good."

"Thank you!"

A silence draws out between them again, and she starts kneading again. It reaches for that pleasure spot, and he has to clamp his lips together to keep from moaning again.

_Hello, hormones _he thinks grumpily, as other, more _explicit _thoughts start thawing their ways into his mind. Finally, she stops, and he's half-relieved, half-disappointed.

Linda slides off the bed, grinning at him. He rubs the back of his neck, thinking about how he'd be feeling a lot better if he didn't have to restrain himself in the last half of the session.

Then he peeks at the clock, and frowns. "Hey, that was thirty minutes."

Linda raises an eyebrow expectantly. "And?"

"You said fifteen max. Twenty if you like me."

"Then if you got thirty minutes, that must mean I really, _really _like you."

Matt opens and closes his mouth like a faulty drawbridge, then clears his throat again. "Well. Yeah. …Good."

Linda smiles widely at him.

And there they go.

The butterflies are attacking again.

But as he looks at her, he realizes that that smile is very, very mischevious. Which means…

Ah. She heard the moan.

Fantastic.

"Well uh, I'm gonna -"

Something soft brushes against his lips lightly, lingering for a few seconds before shyly retreating. Matt blinks several times, trying to registering what just happened.

"The mistletoe," she blurts out, and Matt's already raised eyebrows raise even higher. "I mean… it's rude if you don't follow the mistletoe laws. They're very important. Otherwise the mistletoe's feelings gets hurt and it starts crying and it's all very messy."

He smirks. "Is it, now?"

Linda nods, her face deadpan. "Extremely."

After a while of staring at each other, they both burst out snickering, and even when they stop they both have big, silly grins on their faces.

"So… I guess I'll be seeing you around."

Matt takes his GameBoy, still grinning. "I guess you will."

When he returns to his dorm room, the smirk is wiped off Mello's face as he spots Matt's grinning one.

"What the hell happened with Linda?"

"Nothing," Matt replies knowingly, folding his arms behind his head and already wondering if he could convince her to do that kneading thing again.


End file.
